


Karkat: Finish your character arc

by darkandfullofhodors



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Act 7, Canon Compliant, Dave comes out to Jade and she's supportive instead of jealous, Epilogue, M/M, Most other characters are mentioned, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, unless I fucked up somewhere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-13 23:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7141670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkandfullofhodors/pseuds/darkandfullofhodors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat has finally earned his place in a safe new universe with a bunch of his friends. Only, he doesn't really feel like he's "earned" anything at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Karkat: Finish your character arc

**Author's Note:**

> So, like a lot of other people, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of closure when it came to character arcs. Especially when it came to Karkat, not only because he's one of my favorites, but also because I feel like only a few extra scenes post-Collide were necessary to give his arc a satisfying wrap-up. I've got my fingers crossed that the epilogue will deliver, but I decided to write those scenes myself in the meantime.

CG: IT’S TOO FUCKING BRIGHT.  
TG: what is  
CG: YOUR STUPID EARTH SUN.

 _Obviously_ it was too fucking bright. Every day they had spent on Earth so far was too fucking bright. He mentally scolded himself for being a petulant wiggler and whining about the new planet’s sun of all things after all that they had been through— _except, no, fuck that_ , he stopped himself. _Fuck that thought I just had_. He mentally scolded himself for the first mental scolding.

Sure, it had only been a week since he and his friends had narrowly avoided gruesome deaths and finally created a new universe where they were safe after more than a sweep and a half of pure bullshit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be pissed off at the sun if he wanted to be. And Karkat decided that he wanted to be. If he could then use that as an excuse to get out of this get-together that Dave was trying to drag him to, well, all the better.

Trolls were nocturnal, after all, but the troll race had gotten awfully scarce and now they were outnumbered by humans who actually _enjoyed_ the daylight and could spend an obnoxious amount of time outdoors. So it fell on the trolls to suck it up and adjust if they wanted to fit in with society. Terezi and Kanaya had both done that pretty easily already though. _No fucking surprise there,_ Karkat thought bitterly. _It’s not like Terezi can be blinded any more than she already is, and Kanaya’s a rainbow drinker who’s been living as a walking glow stick so of course it’s no big deal to her._ He briefly wondered whether this was a nuisance for Calliope. He didn’t actually know very much about her species. Maybe cherubs didn’t like the sun either? Then he remembered how nauseatingly cheerful she was all the time and decided she didn’t count. No, clearly he was alone in his suffering. Yet another example of paradox space taking a huge, rancid dump right on Karkat Vantas in particular.

Of course! It all made sense now. _This_ was the reason Jade’s denizen insisted that he would play an important role. It was obviously to be the new universe’s designated load gaper! It was only fitting that the game had found one last way to turn Karkat into a complete fucking joke, even now that he had finally escaped it.

Karkat’s need to feel vindicated walked him over to the window and lifted his hand to the curtains. He peeked through and immediately recoiled from the flood of light that assaulted his ganderbulbs. The sun was bad enough on its own, but who knew an entire town made out of metal cans could be so violently reflective?! What the fuck had they been thinking? It had seemed like such a harmless idea back in the shadowy bowels of the meteor!

The meteor... he hadn’t thought about it much, but it couldn’t have been easy for Dave and Rose to spend three of their Earth years mostly in the dark. _I didn’t think about it because neither of them blubbered about how unfair it was like I’m doing right now._ Okay, maybe he was being ever-so-slightly unreasonable. He could admit that. To himself, at least. But he still didn’t want to go out and he wasn’t about to back down without a fight.  
  
TG: i mean being bright is kinda what suns do  
TG: so what  
CG: SO I’M NOT GOING.  
TG: come on dont be like that  
TG: jades giving me her biggest and most pitiful puppy dog eyes right now  
TG: and i can assure you its hells of effective since shes actually part dog and all  
TG: how can i tell her youre not coming under this sort of pressure karkat  
TG: how can i say no to her puppy face  
CG: I DON’T CARE.  
CG: DISTRACT HER WITH SNAUSAGES.  
CG: SCRATCH BEHIND HER EARS MAYBE, BARKBEASTS LOVE THAT.  
CG: USE YOUR IMAGINATION FOR ONCE.  
TG: its really not even that bright  
TG: i even just lowered my shades to check  
TG: thats how you know im taking this shit as serious as it can possibly fucking be  
TG: and this is like  
TG: average brightness intensity  
TG: or i guess it was average the last time i was on earth  
TG: now its got a whole new sun so who even knows what "average" is anymore  
TG: this technically isnt even the same earth i used to live on  
TG: its like earth 2: earth harder  
TG: hop on my magic carpet babe cause were in a whole new world  
TG: well i dont actually have a magic carpet but i could bust out the old god tier cape and you could just sort of cling onto it while i fly  
TG: youre already pretty good at doing that while im not flying so itll be fine  
CG: JESUS CHRIST. SHUT UP.  
TG: yeah ok  
CG: IN CASE YOU FORGOT YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE, THEY TOOK THAT MAGIC CARPET RIDE AT *NIGHT*, UNDER A ROMANTIC *MOONLIT* SKY. BECAUSE THEY HAD COMMON FUCKING SENSE. SUCH A NOVEL CONCEPT FROM HUMANS!  
CG: AND DON’T REFERENCE ONE OF THE FEW HALFWAY DECENT FILMS YOUR PATHETIC SPECIES MANAGED TO CREATE IN A WORTHLESS ATTEMPT TO DISTRACT ME FROM MY HATE. IT IS AS PASSIONATE AND INTENSE AS THE FLAMING CELESTIAL BODY RESPONSIBLE FOR IT AND IT WILL NOT BE ASSUAGED.  
TG: that sounds downright scandalous  
TG: karkat do i detect some caliginous feelings here  
TG: do you want to hatefuck the sun  
TG: i feel like maybe i should be jealous but that sounds so badass i dont even care  
CG: FUCK OFF.  
CG: I TAKE BACK EVERY TROLL ROMANCE LESSON I EVER GAVE YOU. I REGRET EVERY SINGLE ONE.  
TG: dude no  
TG: if this is your dream i want to help you achieve it  
TG: you are the starfucker  
TG: its you  
TG: jades an expert on space stuff maybe she has some ideas on how we can make this work  
CG: OR MAYBE INSTEAD OF CONTINUING WITH THIS COMPLETELY IDIOTIC TANGENT, WE COULD DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE? DID YOU CONSIDER THAT, ASSHOLE???  
TG: youre right were getting kinda sidetracked here  
TG: as fuckin usual  
TG: i still think youre making this a way bigger deal than it has any business being  
TG: didnt the sun on your planet literally kill people  
CG: WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?  
TG: i havent seen anyone here turn up dead from too much sun yet have you  
TG: this should be easy mode compared to what you had to deal with on your nightmarescape planet  
CG: WOW, WHAT A STUNNINGLY REVELATORY INSIGHT!  
CG: THE PRIVILEGE OF RECEIVING THIS TURD NUGGET OF WISDOM HAS MY SHAME GLOBES VIBRATING WITH UNRESTRAINED JOY! THEY’RE FULL TO BURSTING WITH MORE PURE, RAPTUROUS MIRTH THAN ALL OF GAMZEE’S SHITTY MESSIAHS COMBINED COULD EVER BEGIN TO FATHOM.  
CG: I NEVER REALIZED THAT THINGS CAN ONLY INSPIRE HATRED IF THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO KILL YOU. YOU HAVE OPENED MY EYES!!!  
CG: I WILL BE SURE TO REMEMBER THAT FLAWLESS "LOGIC" THE NEXT TIME YOU COMPLAIN WHEN I WANT TO WATCH GOOD LUCK CHUCK.  
TG: oh my god no we talked about this  
TG: ive done my time  
TG: i deserve a life free from the specter of dane cooks terrible contributions to comedy god dammit  
TG: our movie library is so much bigger now  
TG: mom even has centuries worth of movies that were made after my version of earth ended  
TG: including movies made by alt me  
TG: we have absolutely no reason to watch good luck chuck ever again when we could watch literally anything else instead  
TG: ESPECIALLY movies made by alt fucking me  
CG: FUCK YOU, DANE COOK IS GREAT AND SO IS GOOD LUCK CHUCK.  
TG: now youre just trying to hurt me  
TG: so before one of us says something were gonna regret  
TG: im getting back to the actual point i was trying to get to before you started spilling all your secret solar sex fantasies  
TG: and your poor taste in film  
TG: everyones been busy setting up can town and helping all the chess guys and consorts get settled in since the game ended  
TG: the last time we were all in the same place together was on the victory platform  
TG: and although that was dope as hell we were still kind of in a hurry to open the door and leave just in case one of the final bosses we killed pulled some bullshit videogame cliche and came back to life three times as powerful and with an extra head for some reason  
TG: like it loved the experience of being decapitated by my legendary piece of shit sword so much it came back for seconds AND thirds like oliver twist at an all you can eat death buffet  
TG: another fucking satisfied customer  
CG: FOR A MOMENT I THOUGHT WE MIGHT HAVE FINALLY BEEN APPROACHING THE FABLED "POINT" YOU CLAIMED YOU WERE GETTING TO.  
CG: I SAW THE TINIEST GLIMPSE OF IT BEFORE IT WAS BURIED UNDER MORE INANE BLATHER.  
CG: CAN I TRUST YOU TO RECOVER IT YOURSELF OR SHOULD I GRAB A GODDAMN SHOVEL?  
TG: the point is that there still hasnt been much in the way of celebrating  
TG: and now that everyones got shelter and all sorts of high class luxuries like basic plumbing its motherfucking party time  
TG: jade says everyone else has already agreed to be there so it would be weird if you were the only one who didnt come  
TG: plus i know youve been looking forward to hanging with all of them in a context where our lives arent in danger  
TG: even if its mixed with that worry you mentioned about things changing between us  
TG: which i already told you was bullshit bro in case thats what this is really about  
TG: none of them are gonna get in between what the two of us have together  
CG: UGH, DON’T REMIND ME OF THAT. I WAS BEING A NEUROTIC DOUCHE FOR EVER STARTING THAT EMBARRASSING CONVERSATION TO BEGIN WITH.  
TG: ok well  
TG: whatever it is youre being so stubborn about its really obvious its not because its too bright out  
TG: hate to break it to you but you werent fooling anyone with that  
TG: even from you it was basically the weakest excuse i ever heard  
TG: like obviously john can just use his powers to park some clouds over us and boom problem solved  
TG: also hes a goofy dork whos way too easily amused so hed probably jump at the opportunity to fuck with the weather  
CG: THAT DOES SEEM PRETTY LIKELY.  
CG: DON’T GET ME WRONG, I *AM* LOOKING FORWARD TO SPENDING TIME WITH THEM ALL. I JUST... DON’T REALLY FEEL UP TO IT RIGHT NOW?  
TG: yeah i noticed youve been acting odd ever since the victory high wore off  
TG: and if youre not ready to talk about whatevers up with that i wont push it  
TG: yet  
TG: but i know you well enough by now to know that isolating yourself is probably gonna end with you overthinking whatever the problem is and getting stuck in a negative feedback loop of self-flagellation  
TG: hanging out with everyone might help you take your mind off of it  
CG: UUUUUGH.  
CG: YOU’RE PROBABLY RIGHT.  
CG: FINE. I’LL SHOW UP.  
TG: thank god cause jade literally hasnt stopped staring at me with that look on her face this whole time  
TG: i almost cracked once or twice and told her you were coming just to make her stop  
TG: were all meeting up in front of town hall in about an hour  
CG: GOT IT.  
TG: oh also  
TG: uh  
TG: speaking of jade  
CG: YES?  
TG: i was thinking i might pull her aside all smooth and discreet at some point today and tell her  
TG: you know  
TG: about us  
CG: OH.  
TG: i want you to be there with me when i do  
TG: if its ok with you i mean  
TG: you dont have to  
CG: REALLY? ARE YOU SURE?  
TG: what  
TG: yeah of course im sure  
TG: once everythings out in the open i intend to show you off as much as possible  
TG: make all the others mad jealous that i won the boyfriend jackpot  
TG: plus im  
TG: still pretty nervous about the whole thing honestly  
TG: and you being there would help i think  
CG: YEAH, BUT DON’T YOU AND JADE HAVE A SORT OF... HISTORY?  
CG: I KNOW YOU SAID IT NEVER GOT SERIOUS, BUT WHAT IF SHE’S STILL HOLDING ON TO SOME KIND OF FEELINGS FOR YOU?  
CG: WOULDN’T IT JUST BE WORSE FOR HER IF I WAS THERE?  
TG: i used to worry about that a lot back on the meteor  
TG: but it shouldnt be a problem  
CG: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHY NOT?  
TG: ok its kind of a long story jade told me  
TG: but basically  
TG: davesprite from johns timeline somehow got sprite squared like jasprose with your friend nepeta through some surely ridiculous shenanigans  
CG: .......  
CG: I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION.  
TG: yeah well  
TG: now theres a version of me out there whos not only part bird ghost but also part troll cat girl  
TG: you can imagine how weird it is for me to process what the fuck that must be like  
TG: anyway according to jade she met davepeta in the furthest ring while she was sleeping and they told her that she and davesprite dated in his timeline but things didnt work out because of his issues  
TG: bird ghost issues not my issues  
TG: just so were clear  
TG: and even though she was sad about missing out on that  
TG: it also made her realize that after three years of being pretty much alone on that ship the main thing she cares about now is just being with her friends again  
TG: she told me shes not interested in complicating things with relationships any time soon  
TG: and she seemed pretty sure of herself on that so  
TG: crisis averted i guess  
CG: HUH. OKAY.  
CG: DID SHE SAY WHAT HAPPENED TO DAVEPETA? IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE NEPETA AGAIN.  
CG: EVEN IF SHE’S NOT "TECHNICALLY" NEPETA ANYMORE, I GUESS.  
TG: they were about to go fight lord english apparently  
TG: if they survived then they could be traveling through whats left of the furthest ring looking for the new universe  
TG: who knows how long that could take though  
CG: YEAH... FUCK.  
CG: ANYWAY, I’LL BE THERE.  
CG: WHEN YOU TELL JADE I MEAN.  
TG: ok  
TG: wait  
TG: are YOU sure  
TG: cause when john started approaching this topic you slammed on the brakes pretty hard and started dangling yourself off the edge of a frog discus  
TG: and there was that time vriska caught us and you screamed so loud and for so long i thought the horrorterrors might shit their eldritch trousers and file a noise complaint with the space cops  
TG: i know privacys your jam so its totally fine if you just peace out before i tell her  
CG: OH, FOR FUCK’S SAKE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE TRYING TO CONVINCE ME TO HELP?!  
TG: i want you there  
TG: i just  
TG: dont want it to feel like im pressuring you into something you dont want to do  
CG: NOW *YOU’RE* THE DUMBASS WHO’S OVERTHINKING THINGS. IT’S NOT LIKE I HATE HAVING THE OTHERS KNOW THAT WE’RE TOGETHER OR SOMETHING.  
CG: BOTH OF THOSE SITUATIONS JUST TOOK ME BY SURPRISE.  
CG: AND I... PANICKED.  
TG: that sounds suspiciously like an understatement  
TG: a shameful display from the supposed master of hyperbole  
TG: i might have to revoke that title  
CG: FINE! I FLIPPED THE EVERLOVING FUCK OUT AND MADE A COMPLETE FOOL OF MYSELF. MY ACTIONS WERE SO REVOLTING, MY PHYSICAL FORM UNDERWENT A METAMORPHOSIS ON THE MOLECULAR LEVEL AND I BECAME A CREATURE COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF HUMILIATION AND DISREPUTE. THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF MY SHAME CREATED SHOCKWAVES THAT REVERBERATED THROUGHOUT ALL OF PARADOX SPACE, CAUSING BILLIONS OF ORGANISMS TO VOMIT IN CIRCUMSTANCIAL SIMULTANEITY. THE NUMEROUS STUPID ASSHOLE CLUBS THAT I BELONGED TO EACH TOOK ONE LOOK AT ME, SAID "WOW, THAT’S TOO MUCH EVEN FOR US," AND PROMPTLY TERMINATED MY MEMBERSHIPS. IS THAT BETTER??????  
TG: it was perfect  
TG: i guess i can let you off with a warning this time just dont let it happen again  
CG: LOOK, IF THE OTHERS ARE GOING TO KNOW DETAILS ABOUT MY PRIVATE LIFE, I WANT IT TO BE ON MY TERMS, WHEN I’M *READY* FOR THEM TO KNOW.  
CG: OR OUR TERMS, IN THIS CASE.  
CG: I DON’T WANT IT TO BE BECAUSE THEY’RE A DEAD MUSCLEBEAST’S MAGGOT-INFESTED WASTE CHUTE WHO NEVER LEARNED THE BASIC FUCKING CONCEPT OF KNOCKING ON A RESPITEBLOCK’S DOOR BEFORE ENTERING, LIKE VRISKA.  
CG: WE *DID* WILLINGLY TELL KANAYA AND ROSE AGES AGO, REMEMBER? TOGETHER?  
CG: AND I KNOW WHAT A BIG DEAL THIS IS FOR YOU. SO YES, I’LL BE THERE.  
TG: ok  
TG: cool  
TG: see you there  
TG: and thanks <3  
CG: <3  


turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Karkat closed his husktop and sighed. As usual, Dave saw right through him and was right about practically everything. He couldn’t decide if he was irritated by that or grateful, but “negative feedback loop of self-flagellation” sounded like an accurate description of what the day would turn into if he didn’t get out of this respiteblock and distract himself from replaying the final battle in his head over and over—as much as what he experienced that day could even be called a battle—so he settled on grateful. Not that he could have stayed irritated at Dave very long anyway. It seemed like the only times Karkat ever felt genuine peace were in Dave’s company.

He’d spent most of his time since the game ended helping the Mayor (which was now an official designation by unanimous vote) plan and organize construction efforts. The newly appointed Mayor of Can Town’s first act had been to declare Karkat as Deputy Mayor. Karkat didn’t really see the point of the title. He was certain he wouldn’t be helpful enough to warrant it, but when the Mayor excitedly presented him with a sash that closely resembled the Mayor’s own he couldn't bring himself to turn the position down.

It turned out to be enjoyable work though, and a much appreciated change of pace after spending so long with nothing to do but wait. The only problem was that, as utterly fucking delightful as the Mayor was, he could hardly be considered a great conversationalist. So Karkat generally worked in silence, lost in his own thoughts. Sometimes the work monopolized his focus effortlessly, but other times... Well, _those_ thoughts had been starting to get on his last nerve.

Karkat looked around the respiteblock, at the assorted junk and sentimental mementos scattered on every surface. Almost all of it belonged to Dave. His turntables, at least a dozen bottles of apple juice (most of them empty), a collection of bizarre-looking dead animals preserved in jars, a frankly ridiculous number of photographs featuring Dave himself... The majority of the photos had been taken before the game started, and those all depicted Dave’s impassive coolkid mask plastered on his face along with an air of pretention. Dave had taken the hobby up again near the end of the meteor’s journey and Karkat liked those pictures better. Not because a great deal of them included Karkat as well, but because of the easy smile Dave wore in the ones that did.

Did Karkat deserve this? Something this _good_? It wasn’t the first time that question had clamped down on Karkat’s think pan and refused to let go. Did he deserve to be here? Not just here in this respiteblock that Dave shared with him, not even just here on Earth. Did he deserve to be in this universe at all?

The others, they had all _earned_ their happy ending. It seemed like the only thing Karkat had ever done was make a mess of things. And when the time came to put everything on the line and stand beside his friends in battle, the final opportunity to make even a miniscule difference, he had somehow managed to knock himself out before the fight had even begun. He accomplished absolutely fuckall on the front lines of Meenah’s army before Lord English obliterated his dream projection, and then, when he had woken up halfway through the battle, he’d gotten sidelined by some sort of fucking plush goblin that never even tried to actually hurt anyone! What the fuck had Karkat contributed?! If he had died instead of being knocked unconscious, the others wouldn’t have even noticed until after they’d won! How _could_ he deserve any of this?

 _Fuck._ Okay, his thoughts were really getting on his last nerve. He needed to leave. Dave would probably rip on him for being so early after his adamant refusal to attend at all, but he found it difficult to care. Karkat was more than capable of dishing out just as much as he got anyway.

He got dressed as quickly as possible, wrenched the door open, and set off at a brisk pace towards the town hall. The first thing he noticed when he stepped outside was the scattering of thick, puffy clouds—which had definitely not been anywhere in sight when he’d glanced out the window earlier—obscuring most of the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> I underestimated how annoying this would be to format lmao. And I have more long pesterlogs on the way, rip me.


End file.
